Lightweight Crew to Kick Off Spring Season

Mar 24, 2010

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale lightweight
crew team will begin its spring season on Saturday, Apr. 3, with
its annual race against Navy, for the Johnson Cup. For the
Bulldogs, the race will mark the beginning of a three-month stretch
of racing events that will culminate with the IRA National Regatta
in early June. The lightweights will look to recreate and surpass
the successes of the past two seasons, when they finished in third
and second place nationally.

The Bulldogs will be building on their successes and lessons
from the fall season, during which they competed in the Head of the
Housatonic, the Head of the Charles and the Princeton Chase. The
Yale varsity eights took fourth, sixth and fourth place in these
regattas, respectively. Meanwhile in the varsity fours for the
three races, the Elis took third, first and fourth places
respectively. The Yale freshman eight took third in the Head of the
Housatonic and fifth in the Princeton Chase. The Yale freshmen also
raced in the Green Monster, on the Connecticut River in Hanover,
N.H.

Although their results would indicate that the Bulldogs had an
up and down fall season, the significance of these results should
not be overstated. The Elis approach the fall races with the goal
of experimenting with different boats, tuning up, improving and
learning enough to take with them into winter training.

Said head coach Andrew Card of the fall season: "It was fun at
the time, but to look back at those results with anything more than
nostalgia is a fool's errand. What I do remember best from the fall
was the good rowing we did after the competitive season ended.
November is a great time to do some rowing on the Housatonic, and
we did some interesting things on the water that set us up well for
our indoor training."

Thus, the Elis have spent the past couple of months since the
fall season ended working hard, in an effort to come out strong for
the spring races. During the cold winter months, the team spent a
lot of time working in Tank A in Payne Whitney Gymnasium. Finally,
in the last couple of weeks, during spring break, the weather has
given the Elis a chance to get back on the water and row in the
Housatonic.

"The training has been intense and balanced," said coach Card.
"There has been quite some demand placed on the guys, and they have
responded as required. Because of this, the time seems to have
flown by; at the same time, improvements are coming not
dramatically, but at a pace that would indicate deep learning.
Mastery is the goal, and we have some ways to go. For those willing
to put in the time, though, incremental is exciting."

"Spring break is a great time to watch the freshmen finally come
into their own," coach Card continued. "While they are not quite
Y150 yet, as they have neither weighed in nor raced a 2k for shirts
for Yale, they have been quick to absorb the positive Y150 ethos
that we insist every athlete share. While we aren't perfect, the
expectations for this season and for their career are established.
It's taken a lot of hard work and catch-up on the freshmen's part
to get to this point in the year, and it often goes unrecognized
when everyone around them is also working hard. It is important
that they know what is expected of them, and it's then their choice
to abide by and live up to those expectations. So far, they've done
that."

Coach Card further commented on the wonderful work done by
freshman coach Colin Farrell, whom he called a "tremendous addition
to the coaching team." Coach Card further praised the leadership of
senior captain Brendan McCook, and the coxswain corps, led senior
Stephen Dobeck and junior Erin Anderson.

Though still on their learning curve, the Bulldogs are now
excited to see some live competition, starting with the Johnson Cup
against Navy. Held on Lake Carnegie, in Princeton, N.J., the
Johnson Cup represents a fierce rivalry between the two crews. Navy
and Yale are perennially two of the best lightweight crews in the
country and the April 3rd race will be an exciting kickoff for the
season. The Johnson Cup race has existed for six years and the two
crews have split the series. However, the Bulldogs have won two in
a row and three of the last four races, so they will look to bring
that momentum to this year's race.

Y150 will then continue its season with the Joy Cup against MIT
and Georgetown on Apr. 10, the Dodge Cup against Columbia and Penn
on Apr. 17, a dual-race against perennial powerhouse Cornell on
Apr. 18, the Durand Cup against Dartmouth on Apr. 24, and the
Goldthwait and Vogel Cups against Harvard and Princeton on May 1.
Following a two-week break, the Bulldogs will then race in the EARC
sprints, which serve as the de facto Ivy League Championship.
Finally, the Elis will conclude their season with the IRA National
Regatta on Jun. 3-5. Should the lightweights take first place in
either the Eastern Sprints or the IRA Regatta, they will then have
the privilege of representing the United States at the Henley Royal
Regatta in England.

Last season, the Bulldogs won the Johnson Cup, the Joy Cup, the
Dodge Cup and the Durand Cup. In their dual-race, the lightweights
also defeated then-defending champion Cornell in three of five
races, including the varsity eight. Yale then won the Vogel Cup for
overall points, but lost the Goldthwait Cup after coming in third
in the varsity eights. In the Eastern Sprints, the Yale varsity
eight boat took fifth place, the junior varsity boat won the gold,
and the freshman eight took third place. In finishing after
Princeton and Harvard, the varsity eight's performance gave the
Bulldogs third place in the Ivy League. Finally, in the IRA
Regatta, the Y150 pulled off a remarkable turnaround to take silver
in the varsity eight. They finished behind Princeton, but ahead of
Harvard, Georgetown and Navy, who had all been ranked ahead of the
Bulldogs for the majority of the season.

Last season's story further underscores the volatility of the
relative standings of the top lightweight crews. In recent years,
Yale in particular has made a habit of making great strides during
the season, then coming together at the right time to make big runs
at the national championship. The Bulldogs will look to repeat that
storyline this season.

With this volatility in mind, in looking ahead to the season and
the team's expectations, coach Card quoted Bill Parcells in saying,
"Expect nothing. Do something."